Tape printing attachment for laundry marking machines



y c. F. MILLER 2,080,056

TAPE PRINTING ATTACHMENT FOR LAUNDRY MARKING MACHINES Filed Jan. 16,1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4/ O 3f 14 3a 0 9 o A o ,7 37 {4 3 J2 a o o 16 IfMay 11, 1937. c. F. MILLER TAPE PRINTING ATTACHMENT FOR LAUNDRY MARKINGMACHINES Filed Jan. 16, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Man! Patented May 11, 1937UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TAPE PRINTING ATTACHMENT FOR LAUNDRY MARKINGMACHINES Application January 16, 1935, Serial No. 2,013

1 Claim.

In the art of laundry marking it is the present custom to employ alaundry marking machine having type which may be selectively moved toprinting position and there retained in such position. Then all of thelaundry articles from a customer are placed by the operator one by oneupon the platen and. the type carrying member is then moved by powertoward the platen to impress the type upon the article held upon theplaten.

There are, however, numerous articles sent to commercial laundries uponwhich it is not desired toprint the owners name, such, for instance, ashandkerchiefs, ladies underwear, and 15 the like. Furthermore, there arenumerous articles of black color upon which a laundry mark printed inblack ink would not show.

To provide for these articles which cannot be printed upon, laundriesnow frequently employ what is known as the net system, in which thevarious groups of laundry articles belonging to the customer are placedin nets for washing, and the customers name or laundry mark is printedor otherwise aflixed to the net so that they may be properlyredistributed.

In addition to this, there is now employed a so-called tabidentification which consists in placing the laundry mark upon asuitable tab or tape, and then aflixing the tab or tape to the articleto be marked. These marking systems other than printing areobjectionable in that they cannot be easily and conveniently appliedwith the customers identification mark in the same manner as this markis applied to laundry articles 35 on which printing may be employed.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine in the nature of anattachment which may be readily, quickly and easily applied to thelaundry marking machine of ordinary construc- 40 tion, and, when soapplied, the type for the customers identification mark may be first setto printing position on the marking machine and then all of the articlesin a customefs bundle may be provided-with the same mark by firstprinting the mark in the usual manner upon such articles to which it maybe properly applied, and then using the same marking machine forprinting the same mark upon tape and automatically cutting the tape tosuitable length for the required number of the remaining articles notmarked by printing, and then thereafter these properly marked tapes maybe afiixed to the remaining articles, and laundered, and then removed;

More specifically, it is my object to provide an improved and simplifiedmeans for advancing a tape through the printing mechanism and thenautomatically cutting it off to any desired predetermined length.

A further object is to provide means of simple and inexpensiveconstruction whereby the operator may readily and quickly throw the tapeprinting machine into or out of operative position relative to theprinting machine.

A further object is to provide improved means for throwing the tapecutting mechanism into or out of its operative position.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinationof the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated areattained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim,and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of a laundry marking machine having myimproved tape printing attachment applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of same.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional View taken on the line 33 ofFigure 1.

Figure 4 shows an enlarged detail side elevation illustrating a portionof the type carrying member and a portion of the tape advancing andcutting mechanism, and particularly illustrating the means for actuatingthe tape advancing mechanism and for operating the tape cutting knife.

Figure 5 shows a detail plan view illustrating the mechanism foradvancing the tape, and the tape cutting knife; and

Figure 6 shows a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure 2 andillustrating the tape cutting knife in position for cutting tape, andalso by dotted lines in position where it will not be operated by themovement of the printing mechanism. 1

The marking machine of itself forms no part of my invention, and the oneillustrated in the accompanying drawings is of a type well known to thecommercial laundries and those skilled in the art. Hence, it is notherein fully illustrated or described.

The marking machine comprises a base or stand ID, having pivoted to itsupper end at H a rocking type carrying member, type being arranged ondiscs l2 which are set to printing position by means of the levers [3.During this operation the type carrying member swings downwardly untilthe type engage the stationary platen It.

My improvement comprises a bracket I5 fixed V in position on the standII] adjacent one end of the platen I 4. Mounted in this bracket is apivot pin I6 on which is rotatably mounted a tape advancing roller II,the surface of which is preferably made of a soft or yielding materialsuch as rubber.

Fixed to one side of the tape feeding roller IT is a ratchet wheel I8.An arm I!) is pivoted to the pin I 6 and carries a pivoted pawl 23, anda spring 2| is provided for holding the pawl against the ratchet wheel.This arm I9 is yieldingly returned to its lower limit of movement,'asshown in Figure 3, by a spring 22.

I have provided means for adjustably limiting the downward movementof'the arm I9 by means of a screw 23 mounted in the bracket IS, with itshead arranged in the path of the arm I 9. In Figure 3 I have shown bydotted lines the position of this head when adjusted to position forshortening the stroke of the ratchet bearing arm l9.

At the bottom of the bracket I 5 'I have provided two rollers 24 and 25.Fixed to the machine frame is a bracket 26, and mounted upon thisbracket are three tape spools 2T rotatably supported on bolts 28.Springs 29 are placed on these bolts and their tension adjusted by nuts30 for applying friction to the spools so that the tape may be drawnmore-or less freely from the spools. The tape 3| from one of the spoolsis passed upwardly over the roller 25 and downwardly under the roller24, and then over the tape advancing roller I! and over the platen I4,as illustrated in Figure 3.

For the purpose of holding the tape to the tape feeding wheel I! withsufficient force to cause the tape to be advanced when the tapeadvancing roller is rotated, I have provided a presser plate consistingof a spring 32 fixed at 33 to the bracket I5 and curved downwardlytoward the top surface of the roller I I, and then upwardly. This springnormally assumes the position shown by dotted lines in'Figure 3, spacedupwardly above theroller I1, and for the purpose of at times holding thespring presser plate to its operative position relative to the roller I1I have provided a cam 34 pivoted to an arm 35 which extends upwardlythrough the plate 32. When this cam is moved toposition shown by thesolid lines in Figure 3 the presser plateis held downwardly, and whenthe cam is moved to position shown by dotted line, then the presserplate will move upwardly to the-dotted line position.

For operating the pawl bearing arm I9 at the proper time with relationto the movement of the printing machine, I have provided a hook-36 fixedto the type bearing member, and a flexible chain 37 connected to thehook and also connected to the pawl bearing arm I9, so that when thetype move downwardly toward the platen, the pawl 20 will be moved by thespring 22 to its lower limit of movement, and during this operation thetype advancing roller is stationary. Them-when the type carrying membermoves upwardly, the pawl 20 engages the ratchet I8 and moves'the typeadvancing r'oller over the platen a distance predetermined by the lengthof the stroke of the pawl bearing arm I9, and since the length of thisstroke may beadjusted by the screw 23, the tape may be advanced anydesired pre-determined distance upon each operation of the type bearingmember.

For the purpose of cutting the tape I have provided a knife 38 pivotedto the bracket I5 by the pivot pin 39. The knife body normally extendsupwardly, as shown in Figure '6, and-then laterally over the tape andbetween the roller I! and the platen I4. A spring 40 is provided fornormally holding the knife in its open position, as shown by dottedlines in Figure 6. At the top of the knife 38 there is an arm 4|. Fixedto the type bearing member is an arm 42, and this arm is so shaped andpositioned that during the downward movement of the type bearing memberthe arm 42 will engage the top of the knife 38 and move it downwardly tocutting position, and during this movement the arm 42 will slide underthe arm 4|, and then during the upward movement of the arm 42 the knifewill be raised, and when raised to a limited extent, the arm 42 willslide out from under the arm 4|.

When it is desired to hold the knife in its inoperative position so thatit will not be engaged by the arm 42, I have provided a pivoted plate43, on the pivot pin 44, and this plate is so shaped that when moved toone position it will limit the movement of the knife 38 outwardly, andthereby hold the knife in position to be engaged by the arm 42, and whenthe said plate 43 is moved to another position it will permit the knife38 to be swung outwardly by the spring 40 to position where the arm 42will not engage the knife.

Mounted below the platen is a tray 45 to receive the severed portions oftape as they fall from the platen.

In practical operation the operator places a customers bundle ofarticles to be laundered in position conveniently accessible to theoperator, then the operator adjusts the type bearing discs to properposition for printing the owners name or other laundry mark, and thenthe operator selects from the bundle those articles which shouldproperly be marked with permanent ink, and these articles are thusmarked in the ordinary manner. Then, assuming that there are ten ar-"ticles in the customers bundle which should not be marked with permanentink, the operator adjusts the tape clamping plate 22 to its properpositionby manipulation of the cam 34, and he also moves the knife 38toward the platen .and moves the knife limiting plate 43 to position forholding the knife in its'operativ'e position. He then operates theprinting machine ten times in the usual manner, and in each operation atape is advanced to printing position, printed upon and cut off anddropped into the tray 45, so that there is exactly the same number ofprinted tapes as there are unmarked articles to be laundered. Then thesetapes are affixed by sewing, clips or otherwise, to the articles, andmay then be put through the laundering processes. Upon redistribution ofthe laundered articles all of the articles will have identical marks,thus assisting in the accuracy of the redistribution. After marking onecustomers bundle the cam 34 and the knife limiting plate 43 are moved totheir normal positions, and the'tape feedingand cutting mechanism isthereby made inoperative.

With my improved machine none of the tape is wasted, and the tape neednot be rolled back upon its spool when the tape advancing mechanism andcutting knife are in iinoperative positions.

I claim as my invention:

A tape printing attachment for laundry marking machines of the class inwhich a type bearing head moves toward aplaten, comprising a tapefeeding roller fixed to the marking machine frame with its top surfaceapproximately in the plane of the top-surface of the platen, means foradvancing the tape feeding roller a pre-determined distance upon eachmovement of the type bearing head, and a means for pressing a tapeagainst the roller whereby the movement of the roller will advance thetape, said means compris ing a spring fixed at one end to the frame andprojected approximately in the plane of the top of the platen to a pointspaced above the roller and out of engagement with a tape on the roller,and manually operable means applied to the central portion of the springfor forcing the free end of the spring toward the roller whereby theresiliency of the spring will yieldingly hold a tape into such contactwith the roller that a rotation of the roller will advance the tape.

CHARLES F. MILLER.

